Faculty Grievance Committee

Learn more about the committee

• Committee Members
• Faculty Grievance Committee Bylaws
• Board of Regents Faculty Grievance Committee Bylaws
• Faculty Grievance Committee Policies and Rules of Procedure

Committee Members

Faculty: 3-Year Terms, September: ballot vote by senate

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Faculty Grievance Committee Bylaws

Faculty Senate Bylaws

This committee shall fulfill the grievance functions of the senate, and have the powers and duties outlined in Section 4.13 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. It shall consist of two full professors, two associate professors and two assistant professors with terms of three years, and one additional faculty member who shall be elected annually without regard to academic rank from the membership of the Committee on Faculty Personnel and Welfare. Members of the committee shall serve staggered terms, meaning that the term(s) of one class of members will expire each year. Committee members shall be elected from faculty members eligible for election to the Faculty Senate. At its September meeting the senate will elect new members from the slate of nominees presented by the committee on committees, which shall include one more candidate than the number of vacant seats created by reason of the expiration of the term of a member, resignation, or retirement. Within five working days of the election of new members the committee shall elect its own chairperson from among its tenured members. A committee with a case under consideration shall, when necessary, continue past September with its membership unchanged until the case is resolved; in such an event, new cases shall be considered by the reconstituted committee.

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Board of Regents Faculty Grievance Committee Bylaws

University of Nebraska Bylaws, Chapter IV: Rights and Responsibilities of Professional Staff

4.13 Grievance Committee
4.13.1 Grievance Committee: Power to Create
4.13.2 Powers of Faculty Grievance Committee

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Faculty Grievance Committee Policies and Rules of Procedure

Revised September 2006 (R2846 Approved by Board of Regents 01/19/2007)

I. Definitions

A. Grievance. Either(1) a circumstance thought to be unjust or injurious and a ground for complaint, or (2) a statement of complaint against a real or imagined injustice or injury.

B. Grievant. Person who claims a circumstance of grievance exists and files a statement of the grievance with the Committee.

C. Committee. The Faculty Grievance Committee.

D. Respondent. The person, or institutional agency which took the action or made the decision constituting the alleged grievance.

E. Chair. The chair of the Committee or designated representative of the chair.

F. Notice. To give notice or to notify means in writing.

G. Receipt of Statements. Statements are officially received by the Committee when logged in the office of the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

H. Days. Refers to working weekdays, excluding weekends and days when classes are not in session.

I. Bylaws. Means Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

J. Regular Academic Year. Contracted term of service for academic year faculty as defined and modified by sections 3.3.1 (b) and 3.4.2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

K. Shall. Means must.

II. Sources of Powers

The Committee derives its powers from the action of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska in approving the constitution of the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and from the action taken by the faculty senate to carry into effect section 4.13.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska subject to the specification of "powers of Faculty Grievance Committee of the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha" in section 4.13.2 of those same bylaws.

III. Scope of Authority

The Committee shall consider all grievances filed by any faculty member alleging any grievance except those in which the grievant alleges a violation of academic freedom or academic tenure as defined in the bylaws. Any alleged grievance shall pertain to acts or omissions that occurred pursuant to a grievant's position as a faculty member. Grievances must be filed no later than six months after the act or omission occurred or, if the grievant discovered the act or omission subsequently, no later than six months after the grievant knew of or reasonably should have known of the act or omission.

IV. Manner of Filing a Grievance

A member of the faculty desiring to file a grievance shall:

A. Submit to the Faculty Senate office a written statement setting forth the nature of the grievance with sufficient specificity and clarity that a respondent can reply under Rules of Procedure 1.7: indicate on the form his/her department, rank, and type of appointment upon the date of filing; and indicate the date the grievant discovered the act or omission and, if applicable, the reason for the passage of time between the act or omission and the grievant's knowledge of it.

B. Indicate in writing that the services of at least one of the following have been sought and used without resolution of the grievance.

• Any other interdepartmental or university-wide mechanism or committee designed to resolve disputes of faculty members (including AAUP mediation, Faculty Human Resources Office, Ombuds Service).

C. Indicate in writing whether or not the grievance has been presented to any other grievance committee, and the results therefrom.

V. Grievance Committee Procedures

A. Upon receipt of a faculty member's grievance, the Secretary/Treasurer of the faculty senate, or his/her designee, will ask the grievance committee chair to call a meeting of the grievance committee within 10 working days of the receipt of the grievance by the Faculty Senate Secretary/Treasurer, or his/her designee, in order to gather input from the committee members on how to proceed with the grievance. Prior to the grievance committee's first meeting, the chair will make a reasonable effort, by telephone and in person, during normal working hours, to determine whether the facts presented by the person filing the grievance relative to sections 4, A, and B, where appropriate, are correct. The chair will also distribute any written materials on the grievance to committee members prior to the meeting time. At the grievance committee's first meeting, the committee will decide whether to refer the grievance to another grievance committee or to hear the grievance. If the grievance committee decides to refer the grievance to another grievance committee, this shall conclude its action on the case. The chair will send the grievant a written receipt indicating the date the grievance was received by the grievance committee (Receipt of Grievance, RG). If the committee decides to hear the grievance, and if any grievance committee member has a conflict of interest in relation to the grievance, the committee chair will request that the chair of the Committee on Personal and Welfare of the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha appoint an ad hoc member to the Committee as a substitute for any member who may have a conflict of interest in relation to the grievance. A conflict of interest shall be considered to exist if any member is a party to the grievance or is a departmental colleague of a party to the grievance. Such ad hoc members shall sit with the Committee only in relation to the grievance at hand.

B. Within 10 days of deciding that the grievance will proceed, the chair will give the respondent formal written notice of the grievance (10 days RG). Such notice shall include a copy of the statement of grievance required under section 4, A. The claims of the grievance considered shall only be those specified in writing on the Committee's form.

C. The respondent shall submit to the committee a written reply to the grievance within 20 days of receiving formal notice of the grievance (30 days RG). The reply shall include an explicit statement to the effect that the Committee has been provided with all the information used by the respondent. Within two days of receiving the respondent's statement, the chair shall send a copy of this statement to the grievant. The grievant may submit an addendum to his or her original statement. Such addendum muist be limited to a reply to the contents of the respondent's statement. A copy of an addendum to the grievant's statement shall be sent by the chair to the respondent within two days of receipt of said addendum.

D. The Committee shall have 30 additional days to gather and share documents and information from the grievant, respondent, and other relevant parties (60 days RG). The chair of the committee shall ensure that all documentation gathered by the committee shall be shared with the grievant and respondent.

E. The Committee may decide to hold hearings after completing the procedures specified in D. All hearings should be completed within 30 days (90 days RG) excluding summers. The hearing shall be recorded on tape. Failure to provide information that the committee deems necessary to reach a conclusion will be construed as a concession of the case to the other party.

F. Action by the Committee on a grievance shall be terminated in the event of the grievant's death or resignation from the University or when the grievance is terminated by the written consent of both the grievant and the respondent.

G. Within 10 days of the meeting or the final hearing (100 days RG), the Committee, following section 4.13.2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, shall decide whether or not to order the matter reconsidered by the appropriate person, group or groups, or to recommend that other rectifying action be taken.

H. The Committee shall also within the same 10 days present to the chancellor and to the parties a written report which shall include its findings on the merits of the grievance, its ordering of reconsideration, if any, or its recommendation, if any, for other rectifying action. The report to the Chancellor shall be accompanied by a copy of the statement of grievance required by section 4, A, a copy of the notice to the respondent, a copy of the reply required by section 7, B, a copy of any addendum from the grievant, and a copy of appropriate portions of the hearing, if such was held under section 7, D.

I. In cases where the Committee's decision does not express consensus, a minority report may be submitted to the chancellor along with the report of the majority.

J. Within 20 days after receipt of the Committee's report (120 days RG); the Chancellor shall send to the Committee and at the same time to the parties, a written statement of his/her decision on the grievance. However, the Chancellor may extend his/her deadline for a decision in cases where the Committee has ordered reconsideration and additional time is required to adequately accomplish reconsideration. In such cases, the Chancellor shall provide a schedule of time limits to be observed during the process of reconsideration.

K. The president of the faculty senate shall be informed of all actions taken by the committee including all advice and recommendations given to the chancellor or other university administrators by the committee.

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